Vintage football photos from N.J.

Updated Jan 30, 2020; Posted Jan 30, 2020

By Greg Hatala/For NJ Advance Media

Greg Hatala/For NJ Advance Media

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Vintage football photos from N.J.

As a proud Rutgers alum, I regularly point out that my alma mater is “the birthplace of college football,” with the first intercollegiate football game taking place between Rutgers and Princeton (known as the College of New Jersey at the time) on Nov. 6, 1869. I can tell them the score (Rutgers won, 6-4) and even the location (what is now the parking lot behind the College Avenue Gymnasium, known locally as "The Barn.")

I conveniently forget to tell them that what was probably the first true collegiate football game – more closely resembling the game that we see today -- was played when Tufts College squared off against Harvard University at 3 p.m. on June 4, 1875.

When Rutgers and Princeton played, two teams of 25 players tried to score by advancing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The ball could be advanced only by “kicking or batting it with the feet, hands, heads or sides.” That description is agreed to today by both of the participating schools … and no one reading that will picture much of anything but soccer.

Research conducted by Tufts, the Chicago Tribune, boston.com and other reputable sources show that the 1875 Tufts-Harvard contest featured 11 players per side; advancement of the ball by kicking or carrying it; and tackling the ball carrier to stop play.

Naturally, the debate can never be resolved; while the Harvard-Tufts game’s playing rules more closely resemble modern football, the Rutgers-Princeton match up was the first time two colleges met to play a game referred to as "football."

Here's a gallery of vintage photos having to do with football in New Jersey. Click on the links at the end for more galleries. And if you have vintage photos you'd like to see in our slide shows, send them in an email to greghatalagalleries@gmail.com.

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Courtesy of Brian Murphy

A view from behind the bench of the West Milford High School Highlanders during a game in 1963.

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Courtesy of Trenton Central High School

Elvin Bethea (40) is shown making a tackle for Trenton Central High School in 1964. Bethea played his entire 15-year NFL career with the Houston Oilers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

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Courtesy of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School

Claudia Apangler, left, must've just seen a really good play or heard a really good bit of information from Sue Karlsson in this 1974 photo taken at a football game at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.

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Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Rutgers University's football team posed for this photo in 1891.

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Courtesy of South River High School

Joe Theismann, whose name was promounced THEEZ-man at the time, is shown playing for South River High School in 1968. He played two seasons in the Canadian Football League before starring in the NFL, playing until age 36 when a severe leg fracture ended his career and turned him toward the broadcasting booth.

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Courtesy of Linda Schober

This pep rally for the Lodi High School football team took place in 1973.

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Courtesy of nj.com

Camden native Art Still was the number two overall pick in the 1978 NFL draft and an immediate starter for the Kansas City Chiefs. The four-time Pro Bowl pick had 72.5 sacks in his career.

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Courtesy of Kevin Healey

The Old Bridge Rams midget league football team members get a pep talk from coach Gene Barado on the front lawn of Barado's house on Mimi Road in this photo taken in 1961.

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Courtesy of Richard Boas

Franco Harris was photographed with his mother, Gina, and father, Cad, at a dinner in Mount Holly in 1973 after his Rookie of the Year season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Courtesy of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society

In this photo taken in Short Hills in 1908, football players form a line with the smallest guys up front.

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Courtesy of Larry Pishioneri

Drew Pearson (in front of the referree) returns a kick for South River High School in this frame from a 1967 home movie. Pearson played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 through 1983.

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Courtesy of the Denville Historical Society

Two local teams played on Denville's Imperial Field in this photo taken on a Sunday afternoon in the 1930s. According to the Denville Historical Society, the township rented the field from the nearby Imperial Laundry for $1 a year.

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Courtesy of Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives

A photo of Paul Robeson when he played for Rutgers University during the 1917 season. Raised in Princeton and Somerville, Robeson earned All-American honors his junior and senior years.

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Courtesy of Vintage Bergen County

Block that kick! Block that ... OMG, they did! Jon Campbell (55) of Paul VI High School in Clifton blocks the extra-point attempt from Edgewater High School's Dom Raio (16) as Drew Hass (11) holds in this photo from the early 1980s.

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Courtesy of St. Cecelia High School

These cheerleaders at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood in 1929 would literally kick up their heels at sporting events; those shoes look like a turned ankle waiting to happen. These young women didn't get to cheer at football games coached by Vince Lombardi; he didn't start his career at the high school until 1939.

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Courtesy of Rancocas Valley Regional High School

Irving Fryar (88) is shown before a game at Rancocas Valley Regional High School in 1988. He played wide receiver for four NFL teams in a 16 year career and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.

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Courtesy of Rick Wallace

This photo was taken at Marten's Stadium in East Orange in 1923. The identities of the teams playing are not known, but the card section's 'B' might offer a clue.

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Star-Ledger archive photo

A photo from the New York Football Giants 1972 training camp at Monmouth University shows, from left, Norm Snead, coach Y.A. Tittle and Randy Johnson.

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Courtesy of Bob Baptista

This photo of the Pingry School football team was taken in 1912.

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Courtesy of Caldwell High School

It's Saturday and time for high school football at Caldwell High School in this photo from 1963. The vendor is selling "Affy Tapple."

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Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City regularly hosted baseball and auto racing; this photo from the 1930s shows the field playing host to a football game.

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Courtesy of Seton Hall University Archives

In 1899, Seton Hall College's football team was known as the "St. Georges" and played in these uniforms. Team coaches are the ones wearing the bowler hats.

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Courtesy of the Historical Society of Princeton

This 1894 photo shows a Princeton University football game being played at Brokaw Field, one of many different fields the Tigers used before Palmer Stadium was built in 1914.